A study on improvement of management framework for coastal erosion protection

Abstract

Recently, coastal erosion has become an important issue in relation to keeping territorial integrity of a nation as well as protecting the coastal marine ecosystem. This study examines some apprehensions about the effectiveness of the existing legal system concerning prevention of coastal erosion. After examining several case studies in Scotland, the USA, and the Netherlands, this study proposes appropriate revisional legal measures that can be applied in Korea: first, the coastal management act should be revised for stronger, enforceable and practical legal grounds emphasizing minimal coastal erosion; second, the proposed Comprehensive Coastal Erosion Prevention Plan should be established and implemented in four steps such as characterization of issues through surveys of stakeholders and demand assessment, plan establishment, execution, and maintenance and management; third, there is a demand to establish and implement a legal framework to support monitoring activities which provide important data and information to prevent coastal erosion; fourth, the chronic region of damage is designated as the Vulnerable Area to be protected and managed accordingly; fifth, the Coastal Coordination council is established and operated for developing an integrated coastal management policy and visions for sustainable coastal zone, as well as coordinating and intervention of any activities which may cause coastal erosion.